I am about to go into the jaws of this machine, where I will be ordered to lie perfectly still for 90 minutes - Hi, Bill! - Kalib studies the world

The thing is, my shoulder has made great improvement and continues to do so, but my wrist kind of got overlooked. I remember lying in the hospital after my shoulder replacement surgery, my wrist hurting like hell. I did not think too much of it - I figured that I just banged it up pretty good without doing any real damage.

The attention all went to my shoulder. Maybe three months later, when my wrist was still in pain, I brought it up to Dr. Duddy on one of my visits and so he had his beautiful technician shoot some some x-rays of it.

No breaks, no cracks, no damage of any kind that he could see.

So I continued to just tough it out, expecting the pain to eventually go away.

But it did not.

And now, on the whole, my wrist causes me more pain than my shoulder does. I can lift and pull with it, no problem. But if something pushes my palm downward, or someone shakes my hand too hard, or I lie on it wrong... AYYY YAHHH!

It hurts!

I have written about how I would like to get on a snowmachine this spring and head out onto the ice pack, but I am a bit afraid. And I know I could not hang onto the back of a sled.

It's my wrist, even more than my shoulder that causes me to bear such fear.

So yesterday, Dr. ordered up an MRI just for my wrist.

Today, I spent 90 minutes in this machine.

I had intended to describe the experience - the sounds of the MRI: some like a jackhammer, others like a machine gun, others like an old fashioned shock-treatment device putting an electric charge into flesh, all with NPR programs speaking soothingly to me through my headphones, but I have already written more words than I intended.

It was not painful, it was not terrible, it was just long.

And when I finally I got up, my wrist really hurt. My back was sore.

So I drove to Taco Bell and ordered a cheese quesidilla and a bean burrito with green sauce.

This is Bill, who works for Alaska Open Imaging here in Wasilla, the place where I got the MRI. He is not the technician who put me through the MRI, but he remembered me from the last time I came to AOI. That was after I got rear-ended the eve before Christmas Eve and was left with a bit of whiplash.

Not bad, mind you, but I had to get it checked out, anyway, and Bill is the one who took my x-rays. He was quite impressed today when he saw my G10 pocket camera and wanted to know all about it.

So, as a demonstration, I took his picture and gave him the address to this blog.

Hi, Bill!

And here is one sheet of film from that MRI. I must take it into town Monday to give to Dr. Duddy. I did not want to go to town, Monday. I already must go Tuesday to take Margie in for a followup visit regarding her injuries.

Oh, well.

And here is Kalib, looking out into the world. What a little man he has suddenly become!

It is white out there now, but soon it will be green. Mosquitoes will buzz through the air and tiny frogs will hop about in the back yard.

Not as many frogs as used to hop, though. 

Tons of frogs used to hop around out there.

Now only ounces of frogs hop about.

What happened to them all?

Comments

[Vivek]

Regarding the frogs, I've heard that there has been a global epidemic of a fungus that has pushed some frog species to near extinction. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.